Aliko Dangote: Africa's richest man to employ 11,000 Indians to work at his new refinery

In May 2023, Aliko Dangote – Africa’s richest man – triumphantly unveiled his gigantic oil refinery in Nigeria. The much-awaited development marks a watershed moment for the nation’s energy industry and Dangote’s ambitious plans, and promised a degree of petroleum pricing reduction.

But the celebratory mood has been dampened by a new report that has been making its rounds. It seems that Dangote has decided to employ 11,000 Indians to work in his refinery, rather than offer those jobs to fellow Nigerians. Considering the rate of unemployment in the country, this decision has understandably caused an uproar among both the public and the Nigerian government.

The Sub-Saharan African Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network has recently revealed the rationale behind this questionable move. It appears that the majority of seemingly qualified Nigerian applicants do not possess the necessary skills and abilities to do the job effectively. The Network has therefore decided that each African country must create their own national skills qualification framework in order to facilitate labor movement on the continent.

The $20.5 billion Dangote refinery has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and aims to produce 250,000 barrels per day of gasoline and 100,000 barrels per day of diesel. If successful, the project is sure to contribute to the fuel self-sufficiency of the nation and reduce the $26 billion spent on petroleum imports in 2022.

All in all, the Dangote refinery could be a major step towards energy security and economic prosperity in Nigeria. However, it is high time African nations recognize and focus on developing the people within their own borders by setting up and implementing properly aligned qualification frameworks. Only then can we ensure that those at the helm of such projects provide jobs to their own people.

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In May 2023, Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, triumphantly unveiled his gigantic oil refinery in Nigeria, promising that petroleum prices will be reduced to a certain degree, as a result. 

The long-awaited project marks a watershed moment in the country's energy industry and Dangote's ambitious plans. The much-awaited project represents an important turning point for the nation's energy industry and Dangote's ambitious endeavors.

While Dangote's idea has been acclaimed by Nigerians, a new report that has been making the rounds has soured the idea. Dangote recently announced plans to employ 11,000 Indians to work at his new refinery rather than provide those jobs to his fellow Nigerians.

Considering the rate of unemployment in Nigeria, the general public is partly outraged that Dangote has instead chosen to hire Indians. However, this decision has been rationalized.

Why the Dangote refinery is planning to hire 11,000 trained employees from India while ignoring young people from Nigeria and other African nations has been revealed by the Sub-Saharan African Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network.

The organization remarked on Wednesday that the reason for the neglect was that young people from Nigeria lacked the necessary abilities to do the task. The Network stated in a communiqué following its two-day conference in Abuja that it had decided that each African nation should create a national skills qualification framework to facilitate labor movement across the continent.

The regional organization's Secretary-General, Ousman Sillah, signed the statement, which was made public on Wednesday.

The $20.5 billion Dangote refinery, Africa's largest, has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. It aims to produce 250,000 barrels per day of gasoline and 100,000 barrels per day of gasoline and diesel. These outputs could contribute to fuel self-sufficiency and reduce the $26 billion spent on petroleum imports in 2022.